A Father Reimagining His Life
Manny, a father of two young boys, became a single parent after his wife abandoned the family. He struggled with depression and debilitating anxiety, and saw permanent disability as his only option for financial stability.
Through the Family Strengthening Network (FSN), this young father came to reimagine his whole life. He and his mother committed to supporting the family and co-parenting the children. Following meetings with their family advocate, they developed a Whole Family Action Plan — and put it into place.
Manny secured a part-time job which boosted his confidence and reduced his depression. Eventually, he landed a full-time job and, with his mother’s help, he is able now to provide the support and consistent parenting needed to ensure his children can thrive. Their house has become a home, where they have planned an emotionally and financially secure future together.
Making terrific progress on reaching their goals, Manny and his family moved into the “maintenance” stage of the program in 2018, only meeting with their family advocate for periodic check-ins to make sure they are still on track. The family is now self-sufficient. In the past nine months, Manny has more than doubled the number of hours he is working. When he was on temporary disability, he worked about 15 hours a week. He has slowly worked his way up to 35 hours a week and is completely off disability. This consistency has boosted his mental health and the family’s financial stability.
As a result of Manny’s increased hours, the family is able to concentrate on reducing their debt. Manny was able to increase his income and save money by living with his mother. He is now able to support household needs and working to increase his savings. With no more debt, Manny is fully dedicated to prepare for his next goal: finding an apartment for himself and his two children. He hopes to have enough saved by the summertime to move into a new place.
Manny’s children are also doing better in school. The oldest received a positive report from his teacher, calling out his improved academic performance and behavior, and describing him as “helpful and a pleasure to have in class.”
The younger child has started preschool and is adjusting well to that environment. Manny now feels more confident about his role as a father and speaks often of his love for and commitment to his kids. Placing structure in the family’s life has led to increased respect and discipline from both children.
The family is now turning toward the future — they plan to put their tax refunds toward a housing deposit fund. They are meeting with their advocate to establish this goal and are looking forward to what is to come. Manny and his family are champions of the Whole Family Approach, which has provided a path to achieving their dreams.
